Remembering 1951 in Jewish Detroit

Seventy-five years ago, 1951 was a very memorable year for me as it was the first year my mother's parents moved in to our lower three-bedroom flat in the heart of Detroit's orthodox Jewish community. Somehow, they and we (my younger brother and sister, and parents), shared one bathroom along with out-of-town relatives at times.

It was the first full year we had a big television with a small black and white 12-inch screen. The Lone Ranger and Hopalong Cassidy were my favorite westerns and the family gathered around the TV on Sunday night when Ed Sullivan and his one-hour variety show was on. It had something for all ages, singers, comedians, acrobats, ventriloquists, and introduced famous people (including baseball players) from the audience. Sometimes the kosher programming appealed to the family who lived upstairs in a duplicate flat for 10 years and came down for a look.

The city of Detroit celebrated its 250^th birthday in 1951 with events, conventions, and parades. Hudson's the second biggest department store in the world (behind New York's Macy's), unrolled its huge flag that stretched seven stories tall. Decorative bunting adorned several buildings including City Hall and Briggs Stadium, home of the Detroit Tigers which would host the major league All-Star Game in July in Joe DiMaggio's last year as a major league player. Despite home runs by hometown hitters George Kell and Vic Wertz, the National League defeated the American Leaguers 8-to-3 before a paid crowd of over 52,000.

Two weeks after the All-Star Game, President Harry Truman spoke at City Hall to thousands of supporters. Weeks before David Ben-Gurion, the Prime Minister of Israel, also drew thousands to City Hall and often reminded the audience that Israel was not reborn three years earlier, but rather, Israel was constantly being reborn. Also visiting Detroit was Golda Meir (Myerson at the time), Israel's Minister of Labor and future Prime Minister, who urged the audience of 9,500 to buy interest-bearing Israel bonds in addition to donating to the United Jewish Appeal.

Israel was welcoming new residents on an ongoing basis as more than 700,000 arrived in the Jewish homeland in the three years since it became a state. Albert Einstein became honorary president of Hebrew University in 1951. When the university opened in 1925, Einstein joined its board of governors and became its founding chairman of the academic committee.

The 96-piece Israel Philharmonic Orchestra performed before a sold-out Detroit crowd of 5,000 enthusiastic followers, despite angering the 13-member Arab League and its boycott office, which blacklisted firms doing business with Israel. Henry Ford II, grandson of the antisemitic auto magnate, donated gifts to universities in Israel. Ford also gave generously to the United Jewish Appeal and extended liberal credit terms to Israel in its purchases of Ford products. Ford had several Jewish friends, including Max Fisher, with whom he would build a huge multi-building downtown Detroit riverfront center two decades later.

In 1951, a new Dodge two-door sedan – including tires and license plate – was advertised for $1,897.50. Jewish moviegoers drove to theaters to see "Molly," starring Gertrude Berg of the long-running radio program featuring stories of the Molly Goldberg family. Even more popular was "David and Bathsheba," starring Gregory Peck as the Jewish king.